Law will open prison doors for thousands

Friday

Sep 30, 2011 at 12:01 AMSep 30, 2011 at 9:40 AM

The most sweeping changes in Ohio's criminal-sentencing laws and prison operations in 15 years kick in today. Under provisions of House Bill 86, inmates who complete education and other programs will be eligible to get out of prison early; some nonviolent drug offenders won't go to prison at all; and property theft of less than $1,000 will no longer be a felony.

Alan Johnson, The Columbus Dispatch

The most sweeping changes in Ohio’s criminal-sentencing laws and prison operations in 15 years kick in today.

Under provisions of House Bill 86, inmates who complete education and other programs will be eligible to get out of prison early; some nonviolent drug offenders won’t go to prison at all; and property theft of less than $1,000 will no longer be a felony.

For state officials, it comes down to the bottom line: a projected drop of 3,700 inmates over current levels and $38 million in savings by 2015.

Mark R. Schweikert, executive director of the Ohio Judicial Conference, representing 724 judges in the state, said the law sends a “clear message from the General Assembly to the judges: ‘The only people we want in prison are the ones that absolutely have to be there, because it’s too damn expensive.’”

Judges, prosecutors and prison officials say sentencing reform will resonate throughout the system, from county jails and courthouses to community correction programs and state prisons.

There are dozens of large and small changes — and a few surprises — in the bill signed by Gov. John Kasich on July 1.

Powder-cocaine drug offenders will face stiffer sentences, part of a balancing act that also involved reducing crack-cocaine penalties to bring the two into parity.

Some of the 320 prisoners who are 65 or older might be eligible for release. A one-time review will be completed by the end of the year and submitted to state lawmakers.

Merchants, libraries and museums will be able to set up their own diversion programs for shoplifters rather than having them sent off to jail.

Linda Janes, chief of staff at the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, said the law means the state’s already crowded system will have 6,000 fewer inmates than it would have had by 2015 if the law had not been passed. The prison population, now at 50,347, was expected to continue rising.

“That will be a savings of $38 million over the period,” Janes said. “We will be reinvesting $10 million of that into local communities. Obviously, folks are being diverted into the local courts and probation systems, and they need more money to pay for it.”

Janes said the impact on the prison system won’t be immediately evident because changes have to be embedded and used in the criminal-justice system.

She said one of the biggest effects will result from time that inmates will be able to carve off their sentences if they successfully complete drug-treatment and educational programs. They will be able to earn up to five days per month, up from one day now.

The law also empowers state prison officials to ask the courts to consider releasing qualified prisoners when they have fulfilled 80?percent of their sentence.

Another new provision is a certificate of “achievement and employability,” to be provided by the state to employers who hire ex-offenders to reduce their liability.

John Murphy of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association said prosecutors in Ohio’s 88 counties will have to make significant adjustments in indictments in drug cases and other crimes. The potential for a prisoner’s early release will also affect plea deals before sentencing, he said.

Prosecutors remain uneasy with allowing inmates to reduce their sentence by participating in programs. Murphy said that violates the general intent of the state’s 1996 truth-in-sentencing law.

“This expands holes in the law and creates some new ones,” he said.

ajohnson@dispatch.com

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